Bryan Dale Harsin (born November 1, 1976) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

coach and former player who was most recently the head coach at

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...

. Prior to leading the

Auburn Tigers The Auburn Tigers are the athletic teams representing Auburn University, a public four-year coeducational university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. The Auburn Tigers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

, he coached the

Boise State University Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It became a publ ...

Broncos from the 2014 season through the 2020 season where he posted a 69–19 overall record while at Boise. He began his head coaching career at

Arkansas State University Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage la ...

for the

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

season. Harsin was the co-offensive coordinator at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

for two seasons where he played a major impact in the teams development on that side. Before leaving for Texas in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, Harsin was an assistant at Boise State for 10 seasons, the last five as

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football or Canadian football team who is in charge of the team's offense. Generally, along with the defensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator, this coach re ...

and quarterbacks coach.Bryan Harsin Boise State Coaches Page
From Boise, Idaho, Harsin is a graduate of Boise's Capital High School, and a former

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

at Boise State. He was the first alumnus of Boise State to serve as the Broncos head football coach.

Playing career

Born and raised in Boise, Harsin graduated from Capital High School and was a

from 1995 to 1999, where he was a three-year letterman and earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

Business Management Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

in 2000.

Coaching career

Eastern Oregon

Harsin got his start at

Eastern Oregon University Eastern Oregon University (EOU) (officially designated as Oregon’s Rural University) is a public university in La Grande, Oregon. It was formerly part of the Oregon University System, since dissolved. EOU was founded in 1929 as a teacher’ ...

in La Grande, coaching

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

s and quarterbacks in the 2000 season.

Boise State

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

, he returned to Boise State as a graduate assistant under first year coach

Dan Hawkins Danny Clarence Hawkins (born November 10, 1960) is an American football coach at UC Davis. A former player and sportscaster, he served as the head football coach at Willamette University (1993–1997), Boise State University (2001–2005), and th ...

. Harsin was hired as tight ends coach in

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and remained in that position through

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

. During this period the Broncos led the nation in scoring twice and remained in the top 10 scoring offenses all four years. In 2005, four Broncos tight ends combined to catch 27 passes for 298 yards and three touchdowns. When Hawkins left BSU for

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

, offensive coordinator Chris Petersen was promoted to head coach for the

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

season. Harsin was moved up to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, and guided the Broncos offense to an undefeated season. Running back Ian Johnson rushed for 1,713 yards and led the nation in rushing touchdowns and scoring. In

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, Kellen Moore took over the quarterback position and under Harsin's guidance earned WAC Freshman of the Year honors, completing an NCAA freshman record 69.4

completion percentage The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see ''Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

(281–405) with 25 touchdown passes and only 10 interceptions. During Harsin's tenure as offensive coordinator, Boise State posted a 61–5 () record, which included two undefeated seasons and two

Fiesta Bowl The Fiesta Bowl is an American college football bowl game played annually in the Phoenix metropolitan area. From its beginning in 1971 until 2006, the game was hosted at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Since 2007, the game has been playe ...

victories, over

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

(

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

) and

TCU TCU may stand for: Education * Tanzania Commission for Universities, regulatory body for Universities in Tanzania * Texas Christian University, a private university in Fort Worth, Texas ** TCU Horned Frogs, the athletic programs of the school * Tok ...

(

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Texas

After the

season, Harsin moved to the

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

for the

and

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seasons and was the primary play-caller for the Longhorns, paired with

Major Applewhite Major Lee Applewhite (born July 26, 1978) is an American football coach and former player who is currently the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the South Alabama Jaguars. He served as head coach at the University of Houston from ...

as co-offensive coordinators. During this time he also served as quarterbacks coach for the Longhorns.

Arkansas State

Harsin became the 29th head coach at

in Jonesboro on December 12, 2012, succeeding Gus Malzahn, who left for

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

after just one season. Because Malzahn and his predecessor Hugh Freeze left after just one season in Jonesboro, Harsin's contract at Arkansas State included a $1.75 million buyout clause. Harsin led the Red Wolves to a 7–5 record in

and a share of the

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams participa ...

title with a 5–2 record. They earned a berth in the

GoDaddy Bowl The 68 Ventures Bowl is a postseason NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS college football bowl game that has been played annually in Mobile, Alabama since 1999. In 2021, the game was moved from Ladd-Peebles Stadium to Hancock Whitney Stadium, on the ...

against

Ball State University Ball State University (Ball State, State or BSU) is a public university, public research university in Muncie, Indiana. It has two satellite facilities in Fishers, Indiana, Fishers and Indianapolis. On July 25, 1917, the Ball brothers, indust ...

on January 5.

Return to Boise State

Harsin returned to Boise State as head coach on December 11, 2013. He replaced his mentor Petersen, who left for the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

. In his first season at helm, he had led his team to winning the Mountain West Championship against Fresno State 28–14, and earned a spot in the

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. The Broncos went on to win the

38–30 and Harsin won 12 games in his first season. Harsin led the Broncos to 10+ wins in 5 out of his 7 seasons.

Auburn

Harsin was hired on December 22, 2020, as the 27th

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

of the

, taking over after the termination of Gus Malzahn. His salary was $5.25 million. In his inaugural season with the Tigers, Harsin went 6–7, the team's worst record since

. Following the season, Harsin fired offensive coordinator

Mike Bobo Robert Michael Bobo (born April 9, 1974) is an American college football coach who is currently the Offensive Analyst for the Georgia Bulldogs. He was recently the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Auburn Tigers. He was the hea ...

and hired former

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

quarterback coach,

Austin Davis (American football) Austin Davis (born June 2, 1989) is an American football coach and former quarterback. Davis most recently served as the offensive coordinator for the Auburn Tigers, but left the program within two months. Prior to Auburn, he was the quarterback ...

, to replace Bobo before losing Davis just six weeks later due to personal reasons. Harsin also lost defensive coordinator

Derek Mason Derek Mason (born September 29, 1969) is an American college football coach. He currently is the defensive coordinator for Oklahoma State University. Mason served as the head football coach at Vanderbilt University from 2014 until midway through ...

to Oklahoma State Cowboys football where Mason took the same role for less money. In addition to the coordinatoring changeovers, twenty players left the program including starting quarterback

Bo Nix Bo Nix (born February 25, 2000) is an American football quarterback for the Oregon Ducks. Nix played with the Auburn Tigers from 2019 to 2021 before transferring to Oregon in 2022. High school career Nix was born on February 25, 2000, in Arka ...

. Following the loss of players and coaches, as well as rumors that began circulating in February 2022, Auburn began to collect information to understand any issues surrounding the football program. Harsin told

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

that "I'm not planning on going anywhere". Multiple players, current and former, came out in support of and in opposition to Harsin. In the end, Auburn decided to retain Harsin as head coach. Harsin would later, in July 2022, describe the situation this way: "There was an inquiry. It was uncomfortable. It was unfounded. It presented an opportunity for people to personally attack me, my family and also our program. And it didn't work." Harsin was fired as Auburn's head coach on Monday, October 31, 2022. He finished with a 9-12 record and recorded the lowest win percentage by an Auburn head coach since Earl Brown (1948-1950).

Head coaching record

* Departed Arkansas State for Boise State before bowl game

Notes

References

External links

Auburn profile

Boise State profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harsin, Bryan 1976 births Living people American football quarterbacks Arkansas State Red Wolves football coaches Auburn Tigers football coaches Boise State Broncos football coaches Boise State Broncos football players Eastern Oregon Mountaineers football coaches Texas Longhorns football coaches Sportspeople from Boise, Idaho Capital High School (Boise, Idaho) alumni Coaches of American football from Idaho Players of American football from Idaho